EA Debuts New RPG

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...And it looks an awful lot like Lord of the Rings.

By Jeremy Dunham

Despite dated material on its website that says proof of the game has been around for a couple of weeks, we only recently discovered "Project Gray Company" -- a new role-playing title produced by Steve Gray, the same man responsible for 2004's The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age and a key member of the Parasite Eve team before that. The Third Age's Chris Tremmel is also involved in the project and serves as the game's creative director.

Though no information regarding supported platforms, game mechanics, or release dates were provided about Project Gray Company, the official website does boast a number of concept art pieces to appease curious onlookers. Executive Producer Gray also wrote an open letter about the game as a welcome mat to the web space:

One of the first pieces of artwork from "Gray Company."

"I'd like to welcome you to the Project Gray Company website. After working on this new RPG for more than a year, we are excited to share some of our accomplishments so far. More importantly, we're thrilled to share our ongoing progress as we continue to develop this unique new game.

What's this new RPG all about? I can't release too much detail just yet, but here's what I can tell you. The action takes place in a massive open world where you can go anywhere you want, and the characters in this world are powered by the same technology used by the makers of The Sims 2. The story of the game is built around a series of Story Quests. You can choose to follow specific Story Quests, embark on a range of other types of quests, or set off on your adventures in the massive open world environment.

To create this amazing new world, we have assembled an all-star team of RPG veterans from around the world. By combining our talents, skills, and passion for all things RPG, we are committed to optimizing the most state-of-the-art graphics and animation technology, the best character simulation AI, and our powerful new story mechanic to create an unparalleled new RPG experience."

EA representatives were unable to return our phone calls as we went to press, but that doesn't stop us from speculating about Project Gray Company in the least. Specifically, it's the general suspicion here at IGN that the game is the next Lord of the Rings extension -- given the nature of the artwork, the setting, and the double meaning that the title "Project Gray Company" has (not only does it share the name of the Executive Producer, but also the name of the second chapter in book 5 of The Return of the King, in which Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pass through the paths of the dead between Rohan and Gondor).